In the fall of 2012, I was inspired by @fjatheart to buy an off road capable rig. He had an FJ40 that he wheeled and an 01 4Runner that he was planning to build into a trail capable daily driver. After searching many FJ80s and 4Runners, I purchased this 2001 4Runner Limited on October 27, 2012. It was completely stock except for a TRD cat-back exhaust, K&amp;N air intake, and an aftermarket Stereo/CD/DVD player with 12" subs and amps. I started modding it just days after I brought it home.

Because I didn't actually keep up with a build thread since I bought the 4Runner, a lot of this will be a look back at what was done. It'll take some time for me to catch up. I'll be including not only mods and maintenance stuff, but there will be some off-roading pictures thrown in too.

On the drive home, the check engine light came on. After checking the codes, I determined that I needed to replace the pre-cat A/F ratio sensor. I ordered a Denso (part #234-9002) from Amazon for much cheaper than anywhere else. Of course, it was an easy plug and play install.

Once my lift was on, it was time to get working on the sliders and having them installed. Over the next few days, I primed and painted them. One thing that I do regret is using the white "bare metal" primer. I found out quickly that when the topcoat gets scratched, the white shows through like a sore thumb.

These Stubbs HD-SKO sliders are great looking and very strong. I liked the fact that the legs came pre-welded. If I could go back and do it again, I would have had Richard weld in some gussets between the legs and mounting plates for a little extra rigidity and strength. Since I don't have a welder of my own, I had Essentially Off Road of Murfreesboro, TN weld them on.

For Christmas of 2012 I got a Motorola 19 DXVI CB to be able to use on trail rides. I ordered an 18' Wilson antenna cable, a Wilson Flex-4 antenna and a FireStik stud mount. I built an antenna mount that attached under the left taillight. I eventually sold that mount and ordered an ODL mount which are no longer available.

That was a fun and useful install that created an OEM look for the CB.

I also performed the constant 12V power outlet mod. It allows you to use 3 of the power outlets (lower 2 in center console & the one in the cargo area) even if the ignition is turned off.
Here's the link to the how-to:Constant 12V power outlet

Here is the mount that I built out of scrap metal that was in my garage.

Derek (TNRunner99 over on "another forum") and I went up to Windrock Park/Coal Creek OHV on a Saturday for a little trail ride. Since it was in early January, there was ice covering all of the water and waterfalls (not something we see a lot of down South). That ice was the result of my first trail damage. I took another friend and my oldest son along with us and we had a great time. Here are some of the pictures (not the greatest quality)…

Beautiful Tennessee Sunrise on the way that morning…

A sheet of ice on top of one of the water holes gave me my first trail damage… busted both blinkers and smashed my "TBL" plate.

After about a month and a half of driving with the 4Runner lifted, I started smelling some grease coming from the front end.

I looked under the truck and found this on the driver's side inner fender and frame.

At first, I thought maybe it was coming from the brake line. But then I found this…

The inner CV boots were leaking on both sides. The driver's side was worst. I went ahead and rebooted both CV axles. It was a very time consuming and messy job, but not too difficult. The hardest part was finding that sweet spot to "pop" the axle out of the front differential.

Several items I bought from Lowe Toyota in Warner Robins, GA for the 4Runner. The new CV boots are in there somewhere.

Sorry… No pictures of the actual job being done. My hands were too greasy to handle the camera or iPhone.

The box in that last post contained a few other parts that I used for some small projects over the next couple of months.

I decided to give the 4Runner a retro OEM look with the FJ40 "4 wheel drive" badge.

I extended the rear diff breather…

Many people push the breather through the gasket around the gas filler neck. I chose to run it up behind but not through that gasket.

I cleaned and painted my drums and hubs to give the 4Runner a cleaner look…

And, since my hubs were clean and black, I decided to show them off by removing the center caps from my wheels. I like the utilitarian look of it.

I found this Uhaul tube style trailer hitch on Craigslist to replace my OEM hitch. It tucked up under the 4Runner a little better than the stock hitch offering a touch more of a departure angle. I ended up giving my OEM hitch to @fjatheart. He used it until he bought a replacement rear bumper with a built in hitch.

The Old Man Emu lift that I installed on the 4Runner was the "Heavy" lift that included the 891 coils and 60027 shocks in the rear intended for 4Runners with extra weight in the back. Since I didn't have a heavier aftermarket bumper or a drawer system in the back, the ride was a little rough and jarring. Trying to remedy that problem, I tried a couple of different solutions. In March of 2013, I found a good deal on a set of front coils from a 1997 FJ80 to use on the rear of the 4runner. I purchased them and installed them keeping the OME 60027 shocks. The FJ80 coils were 7.5/8 wrap coils and gave at least 1-1/2" to 2" more lift than the OME 891 coils.

This picture shows the unloaded height difference between the LC80 coil and the OME 891.

The FJ80 coils lifted the rear even higher and created a lot of rake with the OME 883s in the front.

I rode around with this setup for a couple of weeks. At first, I didn't mind the rake. But, after awhile I decided I would prefer it be closer to level. Obviously the FJ80 coils offered a ton of flex, but the ride was still pretty rough. After more research and learning more and more about how coils and shocks work, I determined that the harsh ride wasn't because of the coils. I decided to try a different set of shocks. I ordered some Bilstein 5100 shocks that were built for the rear of a Tundra with 0 - 2" of lift. Bilstein part #24-100144. These were a near direct bolt-on for the 4Runner. The shocks came with a vulcanized bushing that did not fit the lower shock mount of the 4R. I pressed out the vulcanized bushing and pressed in a Daystar bushing that would fit the 4R's lower mount.

The new shocks…

and installed…

Since I was starting to not like the rake of the FJ80 coils, I went ahead and re-installed the OME 891s.

I have kept this setup since then and have been pleased with the ride quality. Whenever I end up putting a replacement rear bumper/tire carrier on, I will probably want to go back to a heavier shock such as the OME 60027.

The trail went into a creek around a corner and back up the other side. Come to find out it was a rocky bottom creek that wasn't quite as deep as we thought. We could have taken our time with it and not worried about getting stuck. You live and learn.

Beautiful truck! And the thread even comes with videos! Can't beat it! Could you post up some pics of the 6th seat?

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Thank you! The 6th seat pictures will be up soon. I started building the truck in November 2012, but just recently started documenting it in a build thread. It's taking some time to get caught up, but I'm almost there.

You'll get caught up! I started doc's early, so if I do ever get around to my 4x4 conversion I can start a nice, proper looking build thread with write up! (But pics is always such a hassle :/)

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Thankfully I have all of my photos organized. And I like taking pictures when I mod, maintain and ride. So, that won't slow me down. It is actually helping me remember what I did and (thanks to EXIF data) when I did it. Give it a week, I'll be all caught up and looking for more to post.